It looks like the bug has already been filed:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/927782

At the time, I was hoping to never have to touch it again! But now half a year later I see that all the motherboards are using that NIC. I was quiet when I should have moved then, so now I'm paying for it.

I will file an issue on the Canonical issue tracker about it, as I should have done months ago. Thanks.

Of all the words of affection and derision that I've been called, I've yet to be called that! I love it, but the woman who transposed the last two consonants of my name has got you beat! Yes, she called me a donut.

Ya gavaru pa ruski yazig (chuchut). Ya znayu shto eta blyad.

That looks to be the same ethernet controller as on the problematic Asus board, actually. I was therefore avoiding that NIC and any motherboard that ships with it. Which distro are you on? Debian-based?

What is this word "blyad" that I keep hearing on those videos?

That's a good thing, too. I imagine that the airline could afford a bigger bribe than the dashcam driver.

Right, but it doesn't work out of the box. You and I are competent enough to handle that situation, but surely you don't expect the casual user to start downloading and compiling software on another computer just to install his OS, or even know how to figure out where the issue is.

$ sudo lshw -C network
    *-network
              description: Ethernet interface
              product: RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller
              vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.

In any case, the crux of the issue is that the NIC in question does not work on any available Linux distro out of the box. Sure, I do happen to be competent enough to find X, compile Y, install Z, or swap component N. That is not the point, though. I turned to the Ask Slashdot community asking which motherboards don't need X found, or Y compiled, or Z installed, or N swapped. Because the next guy might not be as competent as you or I.

I'm really not looking for workarounds for any particular install. I'm looking for manufacturers to trust and to recommend.

Thanks. I actually could not get one locally for any reasonable price.

However, that is a red herring. The fact is that the motherboard in question, nor any other commonly-available budget motherboards, currently work with Linux out of the box.

Thank you, I have since found an Intel reseller. And I will be sure to let them know that it is due to Linux support that I am buying Intel.

Thank you. I do understand that Windows 7 is a decent OS. The origin of the issue is that some other users saw my KDE setup and they want KDE and X mouse pasting, not specifically Linux. Little things like window-on-top, mouse pasting, the terrific KDE panel, etc. There exist Windows alternatives, but none are as easy to use as real KDE on X.

Of course, they could live without that stuff and just use Windows. But that is another point. The issue here is that there are no viable motherboards on which to run Linux today, for whatever reason that one might want to run Linux. Of course I have a plan B (and plan C) for the office, but as a Linux user at home as well (where I won't move to Windows) the situation worries me.

Actually, that was me on the askubuntu forums.

As you've noticed, the driver is not in the mainline kernel. I am specifically looking for a motherboard with is supported out of the box by modern Linux distros.

Thanks. I didn't mention it because at the time of posting I was under the impression that the problem was not restricted to Israel and I didn't want to introduce a red herring for the trolls. Actually, with the help of some posts I've since found Intel boards available locally.

I live in Beersheba, Israel. I didn't mention it because at the time of posting I thought that they problem of no current Linux-friendly motherboards was not restricted to my locale (even if the situation in North America is different) so I didn't want to throw a red herring into the mix.

With the help of some helpful posts here, I have found Intel motherboards locally. Problem solved, Ask Slashdot to the rescue.